SAUGUS — An Oxford-bound Rhodes Scholarship recipient and cancer researcher was first a Saugus scholar.
Tania Fabo, a 21-year-old senior at Harvard University concentrating on human development and regenerative biology, was one of 32 Americans chosen as Rhodes Scholars representing the United States. The announcement was made by American secretary of the Rhodes Trust Elliot F. Gerson earlier this month. The Saugus resident will attend the University of Oxford in England in October 2018.
“It was really shocking, especially having interacted with all of the finalists and realizing how amazing and accomplished everyone was,” said Fabo. “I’m just really humbled in general and happy with the opportunities that I’ve been given in the time that I’ve been alive.”
Rhodes Scholarships cover all expenses for two or three years at Oxford.
The Rhodes Trust pays all college and university fees, stipends to cover necessary expenses while in Oxford and during vacations, and transportation to and from England. The total value of the scholarship averages about $68,000 per year.
The scholarships, dating back to 1902, were created by the will of Cecil Rhodes, British philanthropist and African colonial pioneer. They are provided in partnership with the Second Century Founders, John McCall MacBain O.C., and The Atlantic Philanthropies, and many other benefactors.
“A Rhodes Scholar should be committed to make a strong difference for good in the world, be concerned for the welfare of others, and be conscious of inequities,” said Gerson in a statement. “A Rhodes Scholar should show great promise of leadership.”
In Rhodes’ words, his scholars should “esteem the performance of public duties as their highest aim.”
Fabo has done cancer research throughout and leading up to her college career, including at Harvard, the University of Michigan, and in a biotech company.
She’s currently doing melanoma research at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Cancer research became an interest of Fabo’s after she read “The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer” by Siddhartha Mukherjee, an Indian-born American physician and oncologist. The book, which follows Mukherjee’s experience as a hematology and oncology fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital, won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction.
“After reading ‘The Emperor of All Maladies,’ I wanted to be at the forefront of cancer research,” said Fabo. “I feel that I’ve grown a lot as a scientist.”
Fabo has an interest in how racism shapes health issues. She created and co-directed the inaugural Black Health Matters Conference at Harvard.
“The conference was an idea I came up with after taking a class that talked about the statistics behind health disparities,” said Fabo. “There hadn’t been a platform to discuss some of these disparities.”
The two-day event started with a day packed with information, followed by a day focused on what could be done with the information to create an actionable change, she said.
“I knew that there were a lot of ideas about health disparities in the scientific field and I was applying for some programs abroad to explore these disparities, but being chosen as a Rhodes Scholar is incredible,” said Fabo. “I get to do it at one of the premier universities full of people who are really thinking critically about how they want to change the world. There’s no way you emerge from that not being a changed person.”
Rhodes Scholars are endorsed by their college or university, then chosen to be invited to appear for an interview before a selection committee. This year, more than 2,500 students sought endorsement from their school and 866 were endorsed.
The 32 recipients chosen from the United States will join students from 64 other countries. There will be a total of about 100 Rhodes Scholars.
“I think I still have ideas about what I want to do in the future, but I’m going into the next two years and challenging the way I think about the world and how other people think about the world,” she said. “I’m just really excited for the opportunity and I’m ready to use the scholarship to have a positive impact for communities that haven’t had their disparities addressed.”
